Churchbrook House in Penwortham was evacuated after an ashtray had been emptied into a bin.

Paper in the bin caught fire at 6.25pm on Saturday (26 November).

A fire crews from Penwortham attended the home in Marshall’s Brow. The fire was already put out when they arrived.

Smoke was cleared from the flat for around 20 minutes on Saturday night.

Dave Griffiths from Penwortham Fire Station said: “Luckily the resident was alerted to the fire by the activation of the automatic smoke alarm. He extinguished the fire using water.

“This shows the importance of having a working smoke alarm. Also always ensure the contents of ashtrays are fully extinguished before disposing of the contents. Ideally put a little water in the ashtray before disposing of it.”